Ignacio Allende
}}| ! style="text-align:left" Military Expertise(s): } - }} |- | }| ! style="text-align:left" Achievement(s): } - }} |- | }| ! style="text-align:left" List of Kills: } - }} |- | colspan="2" | |- |} Ignacio José de Jesús Pedro Regalado Allende y Unzaga (b. January 21, 1769) was the Supreme Military Commander of the Insurgent Army, as well as the First President of Mexico. Early Life Ignacio Allende was born on January 21, 1769, in the small village of San Miguel el Grande in the intendancy of Guanajuato, New Spain. He was the third of Domingo Narciso de Allende’s seven children. The patriarch Allende himself was a peninsular Spaniard, hailing from the Basque Country of northern Spain. Seeking greater fortunes, he made his way to Veracruz, before settling down in San Miguel and marrying María Ana de Unzaga, herself a member of the town's wealthier inhabitants. In 1789, Allende would conceive his first child, Indalecio, though Ignacio would never end up marrying the boy's mother, Antonia Herrera. Over the course of the next two decades, Allende would father one more son and two daughters, all to unknown mothers. In 1801, Allende fell in love with Luz Agustina de las Fuentes, both of them marrying each other that April. Their bliss did not last too long, however, as Luz was struck with a mysterious illness in October 1802, and ultimately died, much to Allende's grief. In 1802, Allende joined the Viceregal Army, serving under General Felix María Calleja against Indians in Tejas. In 1808, after returning to his native Guanajuato, Allende was granted command of the Queen's Dragoons, an elite cavalry regiment operating in the colonies. It was around this time that Allende took a great interest in the revolutionary furor sweeping New Spain. After Viceroy Iturrigaray's removal from power by the Peninsular-dominated Audiencia of Mexico City, Allende became an active supporter for greater autonomy for the colony. At first, Allende joined the conspiratorial movement in Valladolid, before joining a similar group in the city of Querétaro, at the behest of the city's mayor, Miguel Domínguez. It was at these meetings that Allende met Father Miguel Hidalgo. The Conspiracy of Querétaro would meet constantly through 1809 and 1810, drawing up plans to take over the colony in the name of Spain's deposed king, Fernando VII, and to set up an autonomous government in association with metropolitan Spain. Mexican War of Independence (1810-1817) On September 15, 1810, the Querétaro Conspiracy was denounced to the Viceregal authorities, prompting the arrest of Mayor Domínguez and other conspirators. The Mayor's wife, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, got word out to Allende that evening, warning him that the Conspiracy was found out. After a long horse ride through the darkness, Allende arrived in Dolores, and after conferring with Father Hidalgo, both men agreed it was time to act. On the morning of September 16, Hidalgo called his congregation of Indian and Mestizo peasants to arms in the famous Grito de Dolores, arresting the village's Peninsular inhabitants before moving on towards San Miguel el Grande. There, Allende met up with his fellow Captain (and childhood friend) Juan Aldama, before convincing the rest of Allende's regiment to join the uprising. The Mexican War of Independence had begun. Early victories in Guanajuato Within a matter of days the ragtag Insurgent Army, jointly led by Allende, Aldama and Hidalgo, ran over various provicial towns, before descending on the seat of the Intendancy, Guanajuato, in the infamous Battle of the Granery. There, the Spanish Intendant refused to give up the city, securing the Spanish inhabitants of the city into its large granery complex. The Insurgents prevailed against the Spanish, beating down the doors of the complex and proceeding to massacre several hundred people, including the Intendant. After several hours of pillaging, mostly by the Indian Insurgents, Allende chastized Hidalgo for allowing the Indians to get out of control. Over the course of October the Insurgents solidified their gains in Jalisco and Michoacan, in preparation for a push against the Viceregal capital, Mexico City. After an intense confrontation in the hills surrounding the Valley of Mexico, the Insurgents managed to take the capital in the first week of November, all in the face of heavy losses. The remainder of the year saw additional Insurgent gains in Tlaxcala and Puebla, before a Royalist counteroffensive west of Veracruz gave the Insurgents their first major setback. Loss of Mexico City Finally in posessing the upper hand, the Royalists retook Mexico City in February 1811, forcing Allende and the Insurgents west, towards Valladolid. That spring, both the Insurgents and Royalists rallied, in Guadalajara and Mexico City respectively, in preparation for a summer offensive. Fighting in the Bajío The Insurgents having established themselves in Guadalajara, Allende would spend the rest of 1811 recapruring much of central Mexico, sweeping through most of Jalisco and Guanajuato that summer. The campaign would come to a head in September at the Battle of San Luis Potosí , where the Insurgents achieved a decisive victory over the Royalists, even managing to take General Calleja as a prisoner-of-war. San Luis Potosí's capture also allowed Alende to obtain access to the sea via Tampico. Presidency Legacy Category:Mexicans Category:Insurgents Category:Generals Category:Politicians